JOHN TIFFANY

When you tell a story that you know is having an effect on the audience, that, for me, is the transforming thing.

'Black Watch' has taken its place in the canon of Scottish theatre, and that's fantastic. It's a very particular kind of theatre. It's about the music, the movement, the whole 'event' of it.

There are some actors who see a show as something to do before going out.

I've been in Glasgow since I was 18, on and off.

A first preview is not exactly a pleasant experience for directors and actors. You're never as raw as when the audience first comes in.

When I get really down, I remember that we all share 99.99 per cent of our DNA with Beyonce. And suddenly, the world doesn't seem too bleak.

When I sold my flat in Glasgow, I bought a little cottage on the North Yorkshire coast. Whenever we go up from London to stay there, I'm just like, 'I'm home! I'm home in Bronte-land!'

I love mishmash and the chaos of art forms.

The idea of audiences becoming part of the show is, I think, where theatre is going.

I know Australians are no strangers to pubs, but in the U.K., the pub is a real meeting place because the houses can be quite small, so the pub is an extension of the living space.

If you're going to be hosting any event or a performance or having dinner with people after a performance, it is work, but it's also social: food and a glass of wine would be involved often.

I'm not interested in putting naturalism on stage - I want passion.

Trump is like an eater of worlds from an 'Avengers' movie, but there seem to be different rules for him. What are Twitter doing, for example? He's constantly breaking their rules, the sort of stuff other people get thrown off for.

I never get star-struck. I never fanboy. Ever, ever, ever.

I did a couple of short films when I was in Scotland.

I don't like the idea of stepping-stones in art forms: that you do your time at a regional theatre, and then you work in London and go to the West End, and then you do films. I've never felt like following that trajectory.

Sometimes on Broadway, you don't know who the investors are, and you end up making a million dollars for somebody awful.

We never want to update 'Black Watch,' because it's about a moment in time, and through that moment, it manages to speak about Afghanistan and all other wars. This play is 'about' Iraq, but it's actually about every war that's ever been or will ever be.

It couldn't interest me less, the idea of putting a living room on stage. I just think, what's the point of walking into a theater to see a living room? A sofa in a forest? Now you're talking.

For me, there is a real line between something being the worst thing in the world and the best thing in the world.

Usually, in theatre, you're adapting existing material or creating an entirely new play. With the 'Cursed Child,' we have been given the unique opportunity to explore some of the most cherished books and beloved characters ever written, yet work with J. K. Rowling to tell a story from that world that no one yet knows - it's exhilarating.

You can only make the work that you have to make. And I am old enough now to know that I can't start making shows that are going to win awards. That way madness lies.

The physicality of a production needs evolution and breath.

I'm fascinated to see how 'Black Watch' connects with an American audience.

I don't know how films get made, and I think I'll leave it to other people.